Elton John's 'Honky Cat (Live at The Royal Festival Hall, London 1972)' & 'Honky Cat (Session Demo)' Unveiled

UMR / EMI today unveils Honky Cat (Live at The Royal Festival Hall, London 1972) and Honky Cat (Session Demo). The tracks are taken from the 50th anniversary edition of Elton John's Honky Château. Available to pre-order now on 2CD, 2LP and limited edition gold vinyl LP, the album is released on 24th March. Pre-order here.

Today's releases shine two very different lights on the funky, brass-adorned 'Honky Cat'. Peaking at #8 in the US Billboard charts upon its release as a single in 1972, 'Honky Cat' established itself as a favourite in Elton's legendary live sets in subsequent years. The recording of 'Honky Cat (Live at The Royal Festival Hall, London 1972)' gives fans a fantastic insight into the songs very first live outing at the fabled February concert, which took place a full three months before Honky Chateau's May release.

The concert saw Elton and his band - newly returned to the UK after recording the album in January at the now-legendary Château d'Hérouville - play the recently completed but unreleased album almost in its entirety to an awestruck audience.

The live recording is striking in its freshness and its ability to nearly replicate the studio arrangement on stage. The line-up of Davey Johnstone (guitar), Dee Murray (bass) and Nigel Olsson (drums) immediately established itself as the core of the "classic" Elton band, solidifying Elton's studio and stage presence through his most prolific period.

Also unveiled today, the 'Honky Cat' (Session Demo) provides listeners with a window into the band's irreverent humour and the fun they were having recording the album. 'Honky Cat's arrangement and playful lyrics are the perfect encapsulation of the mood of a band brimming with confidence as they prepare to launch their best music to date into the stratosphere.

Originally released in May 1972, Honky Château was Elton's step into global superstardom, spawning classics such as the aforementioned 'Rocket Man', 'Honky Cat' and 'Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters'. His 5th studio album ushered in a to-this-day unparalleled hot streak of classic albums, and was the first time he recorded at the now legendary Château d'Hérouville, a residential recording studio situated 25 miles north-west of Paris.

It was here where he and Bernie Taupin were to write - and the band subsequently record - some of the biggest global hits of his career. Elton, Bernie and the band - performing together on record for the first time - decamped to the Château for week's pre-production on Honky Château in January 1972. Bernie brought his typewriter; the band set up in the dining room. Bernie would write lyrics at night and leave them on Elton's piano for him to work on in the morning.

As Elton recalls of their notoriously prolific output at the time, "The first morning we were there, I had three (songs) done by the time the band drifted downstairs looking for something to eat: 'Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters', 'Amy' and 'Rocket Man'." The remainder of the album would follow suit; 'Susie (Dramas)', 'Hercules', 'Salvation', 'Honky Cat', 'Slave', 'I Think I'm Going To Kill Myself' and 'Mellow'.

A pivotal album in Elton's ascent to superstardom, the album's sepia tinged cover belies the effortless grooves within of a band who had truly found their feet as a unit. By mid 1972 their live recordings now matched their hallowed live shows, and they effortlessly channelled a soulful sound that effortlessly drew together the deep south of America via Pinner and the Parisian suburbs.

Honky Château became the first of six consecutive Billboard Hot 100 No 1 albums. Still a shining jewel in Elton's back catalogue, it was the album that announced his arrival on the world stage and solidified his reputation in the US. Its impact and legacy endures to this day, and it will forever be remembered as the album where the Rocket Man truly took flight.

Listen to the new releases here:

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